Afghanistan’s President Ashraf Ghani gave an hour-long address to Congress on Wednesday, in which he mused that his country’s longstanding position as the graveyard of empires is quite exhausting to the Afghan people. Having established their reputation as fierce, stubborn fighters, they would really like to move on to a more productive future. “‘Ordinary’ is what has escaped us, and what we’d really like is to lead totally ordinary lives,” he said.
by John Hayward25 Mar 2015, 11:02 AM PST0
An undercover Project Veritas reporter convinced a Cornell assistant dean that it would be a worthwhile endeavor to start an “ISIS training club” on the institution’s New York campus.
by Jordan Schachtel25 Mar 2015, 10:16 AM PST0
The Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) released a video to flaunt an Assyrian Christian man who allegedly converted to Islam. Analysts believe he is one of the 220 Assyrian Christians ISIS kidnapped in Syria in February.
by Mary Chastain25 Mar 2015, 6:46 AM PST0
Almost all mosques have been destroyed in Central African Republic; Russia finally begins to grasp the danger posed by ISIS
by John J. Xenakis25 Mar 2015, 5:58 AM PST0
Islamic State (ISIS) militias have uploaded a video showing the conversion to Islam of one of the Assyrian Christian hostages captured during the offensive carried out in the Khabour river valley last February. The video has provoked accusations of forced conversion under torture and the shameless exploitation of prisoners for propaganda.
by Thomas D. Williams, Ph.D.25 Mar 2015, 5:44 AM PST0
The Associated Press reports that Jordan has announced plans to help train Syrian rebels to fight the Islamic State. “The training is part of a regional effort also involving Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar as hosts of training sites. The U.S. Congress has passed legislation providing $500 million for training about 5,000 rebels over the next year,” writes the AP.
by John Hayward24 Mar 2015, 6:18 PM PST0
It has long been feared that ISIS could ally with Somali terror group al-Shabaab, which has been tied to al-Qaeda. As Osama bin Laden’s gang fades and the Islamic State rises, ISIS might look like a better partner for the Somalian militants. ISIS recently accepted an oath of fealty from Boko Haram in Nigeria.
by John Hayward24 Mar 2015, 5:37 PM PST0
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty is reporting that Russian-speaking women in the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) released a message to women in Russia to join them in Syria.
by Mary Chastain24 Mar 2015, 1:55 PM PST0
The Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) has released a new video showing members of the terrorist group killing a Peshmerga soldier execution-style.
by Mary Chastain24 Mar 2015, 12:35 PM PST0
WASHINGTON, DC — The Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) has been linked to “29 terrorist plots or attacks” against the West nearly a year after President Obama called the jihadist group a “JV team,” revealed House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX).
by Edwin Mora24 Mar 2015, 12:00 PM PST0
Last summer, when ISIS issued an ultimatum to Christians in northern Iraq to “convert, pay or die,” they carried out their reign of terror by marking the houses and properties of Christians with the Arabic letter “N,” a symbol for “Nazarenes” (Christians), which they intended as a slur.
by Thomas D. Williams, Ph.D.24 Mar 2015, 11:43 AM PST0
According to The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a watchdog group based in England, ISIS has recruited over 400 children since the beginning of 2015.
by Mary Chastain24 Mar 2015, 11:20 AM PST0
Just as the U.S. presence in Yemen has finalized its complete withdrawal, factions within in the country—such as the Iran-backed Shiite Houthis and Sunni government forces—are said to be preparing to engage in a full-scale civil war to determine who will rule the Gulf state.
by Jordan Schachtel24 Mar 2015, 10:16 AM PST0
According to Veryan Khan of the Terrorism Research & Analysis Consortium, the great under-the-radar terror threat comes from an expanse of the Sahara Desert in Mauritania, where ISIS, al-Qaeda, and Boko Haram are working together to train Western recruits for jihad, including terror attacks in Europe and North America. “The situation in Mauritania is a powder keg very few people are talking about,” Khan told Fox News.
by John Hayward24 Mar 2015, 6:55 AM PST0
The U.S. Marines, with more than a decade of experience with counterinsurgency (COIN) in Iraq and Afghanistan, could prove to be an important asset in working to contain and eventually defeat the Nigerian terror group Boko Haram, reports the Marine Corps Times.
by Edwin Mora24 Mar 2015, 6:51 AM PST0
Chinese officials visited Baghdad this weekend to vow cooperation with the Iraqi government in eradicating the Islamic State and rebuilding the oil-rich Iraqi economy. Outlets differ on the sparse details, though the message of resolve to participate in the fight against ISIS appears throughout.
by Frances Martel23 Mar 2015, 9:30 PM PST0
A Kurdish member of the Iraqi parliament claims there is a nearly 30,000-strong force made up of Iranian soldiers and military experts fighting against the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) in Iraq.
by Edwin Mora23 Mar 2015, 12:14 PM PST0
The Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) in Syria killed 54 Kurdish civilians, including 35 women and children, as they celebrated the Kurdish new year’s eve, a monitor group reports.
by Edwin Mora23 Mar 2015, 9:33 AM PST0
The latest online threat from ISIS is a list of one hundred U.S. military personnel, with instructions for “our brothers residing in America” to hunt them down and “deal” with them. The listings include names, photographs, and other information.
by John Hayward23 Mar 2015, 8:49 AM PST0
US veteran Brett Felton told CBS’ 60 Minutes that he returned to Iraq to fight against the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) to defend the Christians the terrorist group is liquidating as they expand their caliphate through the Middle East.
by Mary Chastain23 Mar 2015, 8:38 AM PST0
The Brazilian government is preparing to thwart attempts by the Islamic State to recruit young Brazilian citizens to orchestrate “lone wolf” attacks in the Latin American nation, particularly during the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Summer Olympics.
by Frances Martel23 Mar 2015, 7:08 AM PST0
Amidst the enthusiasm for the upcoming Jubilee year of 2016 proclaimed by Pope Francis, Cardinal Camillo Ruini has added a sobering note of caution. “Terrorism is the greatest threat looming over the Jubilee proclaimed by Pope Francis. You cannot ignore it after what has happened in Tunisia,” he said in an interview this weekend with the Italian daily La Repubblica.
by Thomas D. Williams, Ph.D.23 Mar 2015, 5:36 AM PST0
Yemen’s Houthis capture Taiz, advance south to fight Hadi’s forces in Aden; UN Security Council urges ‘peaceful dialog’ in Yemen; France’s center-right party edges out far-right National Front in elections
by John J. Xenakis23 Mar 2015, 4:00 AM PST0
Reuters reports that the Tunisian government has arrested over 20 suspected militants in the wake of the deadly Bardo Museum attack, about half of them directly involved in planning and executing the massacre, which killed twenty foreign tourists and three Tunisians.
by John Hayward22 Mar 2015, 7:12 PM PST0
A new ISIS propaganda video shows three Kurdish Peshmerga fighters, evidently captured in the Nineveh province of Iraq, beheaded with knives before a large crowd of onlookers, some of them small children.
by John Hayward22 Mar 2015, 6:44 PM PST0
